Kosovo to Pursue Renewed Talks With Serbia on Ties, Independence

Kosovo lawmakers voted to pursue
reopening talks with Serbia, sponsored by the European Union and
the U.S., as both sides seek deeper international relations.

Sixty-eight of 120 lawmakers in the breakaway province’s
Parliament backed a six-point resolution authorizing the
government of Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008, to
hold negotiations “consistent with” its territorial integrity
and sovereignty.

“The normalization of relations with neighbors is a
condition for” Kosovo’s integration in the EU and the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci told
lawmakers in Pristina today. “In no way would we talk about
Kosovo’s status or about autonomy for the northern part of
Kosovo.” Thaci was referring to Serbs who live in the north and
do not recognize Kosovo’s institutions.

The European Commission, which issued a series of progress
reports on Oct. 10 on countries aspiring to join the 27-member
bloc, encouraged Belgrade and Pristina to restart talks and
implement agreements on the free movement of people, customs
stamps, the recognition of university diplomas, land records,
civil registries, integrated border management and regional
cooperation.

The “situation in the north of Kosovo remains a challenge
for Kosovo, Serbia, the western Balkans region and the
international community,” the commission said, and “needs to
be urgently improved” with Kosovo’s authorities promoting
multi-ethnicity. It also said changes to Kosovo’s borders won’t
be allowed.

Cabinet Decision

Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said his Cabinet would
adopt a decision on renewing talks with Kosovo. The government
stopped short of any formal announcements after a meeting today
and Milivoje Mihajlovic, the head of the government’s press
office, said “Serbia remains committed to dialog, and has never
questioned that commitment to dialog.”

President Tomislav Nikolic plans to meet Dacic and his
deputy, the parliament speaker, and the foreign and finance
ministers to discuss a new platform for Kosovo tomorrow,
according to the newspaper Novosti. The president’s press office
did not confirm the report.

Serbs consider Kosovo, the home of their Orthodox church,
as the cradle of their own culture and religion and reject any
move to carve it from the nation. Kosovo is recognized by 22 of
27 EU member states.